...I'll chip in $50
The Mercury has their say...
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/...to-sign-mark-gasnier/1826450.aspx?storypage=0
Dragons to sign Mark Gasnier?
Plenty of Dragons fans would be salivating at the news that Mark Gasnier may be about to wear the red V again.His two-year deal with Stade Francais is over and, according to news reports, Le Gaz is keen to return home after his father-in-law suffered a health scare.
The Dragons are the frontrunners to sign the centre because, when the club let him go in 2008 it was on the condition that he not play for another NRL club before 2012.
Obviously, the biggest hurdle to jump would be the salary cap. That’s even if the club has enough money left to sign the centre with the famous last name.
One thing you can bet on - in the wake of the Storm’s salary cap rorting you can bet the Dragons will keep the financial side of Gasnier’s signing completely above board.
I have to say I haven’t been the biggest fan of Gasnier. That’s mainly because I got sick of his habit of toying with leaving the club to either go and play in the UK Super League or switch codes to rugby.
Initially the idea of him leaving bothered me but it soon became a case of ‘‘look, Mark, if you’re going to go, then just go. Quit stringing us along and make up your mind’’. I think the Australian Rugby Union felt the same way - they’ve made him several offers over the years only to have him knock them back at the last minute.
As for his ability on the field, he was great but had a tendency to try and win the game every time he touched the ball. To be fair, it seemed he was forced into that role by a game plan that must have read ‘‘if you’re in trouble on the scoreboard, give it to Gasnier’’.
I’d be very, very keen to see how Gasnier would go under Wayne Bennett, where he would be relieved of that pressure to win the match and would given a specific role to play.
He could also provide the club with that elusive ‘‘X factor’’.
But the biggest question for me is this - who misses out? Which player gets dropped to make room for Gaz? You’d be mad to drop (or even move) fullback Darius Boyd or tryscoring freak Brett Morris. No way do you drop the defensive giant Beau Scott and the similarly impregnable Matt Cooper.
Half or five-eighth are simply out of the question - I’ve got bad memories of the last time we tried that experiment. That leaves the only possible backline option is moving winger Jason Nightingale back to his previous role as a utility bench player.
That said, I’m not sure how Gasnier would go on the wing. Nor would I particularly like to see Nightingale used in the scrum again - I like his work on the wing.
But I guess, if Wayne wants Gaz he’ll work out a place to put him.
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Mark Gasnier at his last game at WIN Stadium. Picture: WAYNE VENABLES
